A Good Sport

Last weekend was a very sporty one - well for Alice at least. Alice was a part of the Avondale Swim team that went to the International Schools Swim meet. The whole family got up at a ridiculous hour like 6am on Saturday morning so we could cheer her on. Alice competed in the 50m breaststroke and 50m freestyle. As other schools have very serious-looking squads and Alice hasn't had weekly swim lessons for two years I feared she may lag along way behind but she actually held her own very well. She came third in her heat in the freestyle and fourth in the breaststroke although her breaststroke style was somewhat unconventional. Even though there was lots of waiting around, Alice enjoyed herself and cheered on the other kids. It's part of the advantage being at a small school being included in events like this.

I was a volunteer timekeeper at the swim meet. There were three of us for each lane and we were told we were not allowed to cheer. All very serious. Apparently there have been many parent protest over the years. The timekeeping may all seem very simple - just clicking a button - but then that makes it worse if you muck up. Fortunately I managed to get the hang of it and only let out a spontaneous cheer for an Avondale swimmer on a few occasions.

Then on Sunday Alice took part in a four hour high jump workshop with a former Olympian. Lots of jumping and running around and throwing yourself backward over a bar - just the thing for her.